66 Per Cent of Consumers Believe Illegal Claiming Of Housing Benefit Is a Big Problem

As a new Conservative government takes charge, tenancy fraud is highlighted as a big problem across the UK with the illegal claiming of housing benefit seen as the biggest problem of all, according to latest findings from Callcredit Information Group. It has been estimated that tenancy fraud currently costs councils across the UK £1.8 billion each year. The research looked into what types of housing fraud were seen as the biggest problem by the public and if the money could be recovered what councils should spend it on.  Respondents across all age groups and regions prioritised affordable housing as the area to spend recovered money, indicating a united view that more needs to be done to solve the housing crisis. Read more on the Callcredit website.

Two Thirds of Councils Miss All Tenancy Fraud Cases

Seventy one per cent of councils in Britain did not detect a single instance of tenancy fraud last year despite an estimated 28,000 cases in local authority stock.  That is the finding from research published today by information group Callcredit, based on Freedom of Information Act requests and existing data.

The study estimates local authorities across Britain had a detection rate of less than 10 per cent. It found 69 per cent of local authorities in England did not detect any cases of tenancy fraud in 2011. Within England the figures for non-detecting local authorities ranged from 18 per cent in London up to 83 per cent in the east midlands.  The research found only 15 per cent of local authorities had a strategy for tackling tenancy fraud. Eighty five per cent of councils with a dedicated strategy or team identified cases of fraud, compared with only 19 per cent of the councils without a strategy.  Read more on the Callcredit website.